“A lot of people don’t talk about the importance of signing your own guys. We finished second in the league in terms of wins, and continuity is a factor. Wally Buono made sure he signed his own guys,” said the Lions star linebacker.

“And look at the guy we’re bringing in — Chris Williams. When healthy, he’s the premium receiver in the CFL. And with the coaching staff, they’re all coming back. Wally is coming back for his second stint in his second year. I’m excited about the direction our club is going.

“I think Bighill is a significant loss just because of what he brought not just to the field but the leadership he brought outside of football.

“That we had five guys signed by the NFL says a lot about our talent. We have a lot of new talent, too. And I think those guys will step up.

“We had a 12-6 record, which is a great record. With a record like that you should have high expectations. And high expectations is a good thing. The year before, we were 7-11. To go from 7-11 to 12-6 says something as long as we have the right nucleus of guys and great coaches. I believe we do.”

Wally Buono hands Chris Williams his new jersey after the B.C. LIons’ GM struck a deal with the receiver to suit up for the Lions this CFL season.BEN NELMS /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

Bighill may be gone, but Eliminian decided to re-up and stay. He’s example ‘A’.

“It’s about winning. I thought staying with B.C. gave me the best chance to win. I was a free agent and I made a conscious decision to re-sign. I could have went other places, but I liked the direction we’re going. I liked the people I’m working for and the people I’m working with. That’s the reason I chose to come back.”

B.C. Lions coach and GM Wally Buono believes his team is still on the up elevator despite the losses.

“You are always going to lose players. In 1995, we lost Doug Flutie. We survived,” said the former Calgary Stampeders boss.

“Football is a game that evolves all the time. Sometimes change is better than other times. And sometimes it’s necessary. I can’t control players who leave.”

Buono, sitting on a stage at Mark’s CFL Week on Thursday, looked at the other four coaches in the West sitting to his left.

“I look at these guys here — 0-0, 0-0, 0-0 and 0-0 and none of us won the Grey Cup last year. So I would say none of our teams were good enough.

“But I also look at these guys and say that I think all of the teams in the West have improved this year. And I think we’re going to be improved.”

B.C. Lions Emmanuel Arceneaux (84) pretends to drink out of a fans cup after scoring a touchdown against the Eskimos in Edmonton last September.

Slotback Emmanuel Arceneaux says it will all show itself during the season.

“You can’t worry about the transactions that are coming or the ones that have happened. You have to get to the season and do your job. You can’t get caught up on the past records. You saw last year that a team around .500 won the Grey Cup and a team that only lost a game or two didn’t win it. Who wants to be one of the greatest teams that was almost?” he said of the Calgary Stampeders, who finished the regular season a CFL-best 15-2-1, and the Ottawa RedBlacks, who were 8-9-1.

“It’s about only one team that can win it. … It’s how you finish, and we’re not even at the start yet.”

If the fans need somebody to pin their hopes on to take the team to the promised land, Arceneaux said Johnathon Jennings is your man.

“He’s shown us he’s is a great quarterback. He’s young and this and that. He’s a pro. He’s soon to be in the category of a Ricky Ray or a Bo Levi Mitchell or a Mike Reilly. He’s just as good as those guys, but they established themselves over four or five years. We have weapons around him. We have a good run game. He just keeps getting better week in, and week out. I don’t see him going backwards.”

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